Keystone Bill Won’t Create Jobs; Green Investment Will

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Yesterday, the House passed the Northern Route Approval Act (H.R. 3), which authorizes construction of the first leg of the controversial Keystone XL pipeline, designed to carry toxic tar sands oil from Canada to Texas. The bill is sponsored by Representative Terry Lee (R-Nebraska).

Statement of Green For All CEO Phaedra Ellis-Lamkins

For members of Congress who think allowing the Keystone pipeline will bring jobs to their communities, it won't. What it will bring is a greater vulnerability to the effects of climate change, along with polluted air and water and risks of oil spills like the one we saw recently in Arkansas.

The oil industry has grossly exaggerated estimates for the number of jobs the pipeline would create. They’ve even counted dancers, manicurists, and bartenders in their numbers. In reality, the pipeline would open up just 20 permanent jobs, according to the State Department. The pipeline would do nothing to help lower gas prices or increase our energy independence. Much of the oil it would carry is destined to be shipped abroad.

We shouldn't have to choose between jobs that put food on the table and clean air and water, and thankfully, we don't have to. Instead of allowing this pipeline, we need to accelerate investments in clean energy, energy efficiency, and green infrastructure. Unlike the Keystone pipeline, these industries will create real, family-supporting jobs right here at home. Dollar for dollar, investment in clean energy creates three times as many jobs as investment in fossil fuels, according to a national study by the University of Massachusetts.

What America needs right now is investment in clean energy and green infrastructure that will truly create jobs and spur economic growth—not dirty oil pipelines that put our air and water at risk.